How about driving down along the Pacific coast from San Francisco towards Los Angeles, then drive down towards San Diego. The scenary on the first part is wonderful and you can end up on some nice beaches towards the end of your holiday south of Los Angeles and towards San Diego.

I would suggest a flight into SFO and out of LAX.

You could always extend and head inland towards Palm Springs after San Diego - or head towards Las Vegas.

yup, fly into San Francisco and you can drive the pacific coast south to LA or head inland for the amazing scenery of Yosemite then head down to Santa Monica for beach time

TC

Although we didnt drive ourselves ,we went on a National Parks tour with Travelsphere,where the scenery was spectacular.We ended the tour in Las Vegas where you could add on extra days if you required.
We have driven down the Atlantic coast of Florida down to Key West and back up the Gulf coast which was also enjoyable.
Flights to the East coast of America will be cheaper than over to the West coast.
Depending on time you could also do a Drive Away,where you drive some ones car to their new destination.My son did this driving from New York to Seattle and then back via the Eastern and Southern states.

Thanks for your replies. It's the driving part that I'm a bit sceptical about. How much driving are we talking about along the Pacific Coast to San Diego or Santa Monica as Traveller and Teecee suggested. After a long haul flight I@m wondering whether hubby will be awake enough to do the driving.

Jay Trip, how does the National Parks Tour work. How many days and did they organize accomodation for you along the route.

Sorry about all the questions as I'm a complete novice at this sort of thing. Also, if hubby drives what are the roads/traffic like. Thanks again.

Have a look at what this company offers.
I have friends who have used them twice and their service is very good.
http://www.titanhitours.co.uk/california-holidays.asp
This might be a lot less hassle for you if you want to let someone else drive and enjoy the scenery.

How much driving are we talking about along the Pacific Coast to San Diego or Santa Monica as Traveller and Teecee suggested. After a long haul flight I@m wondering whether hubby will be awake enough to do the driving.

I certainly wouldn't recommend a long drive after flying to SFO. Why not spend 2/3 days in San Francisco first, rent a car for collection when you are ready to leave (you won't need a car for your time in San Francisco and car parking is expensive anyway). The drive down the coast can take as long as you want. If you have the luxury of time over say a two week period, why not take a leisurely 3/5 day trip with a couple of night stops for 1/2 nights each time. A few days around the Los Angeles area. Then head south for your beaches. Lots of possible stops south of LA (Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach...) then spend 3/5 days in San Diego.

Can I suggest getting hold of a Virgin Holidays brochure. They offer various options down that coast line and you can pick and choose what you fancy, deciding where you want to stay and for how long.

The National Parks tour we went on was through about 12 states and we covered 4,700 miles,starting in South Dakota and ending in Las Vegas.Since then they have redesigned this tour where you spend more nights at each stop.The most nights we spent in one hotel was 2 nights.
My friend did the National Parks tour last September and they went to 7 states and ended in Las Vegas but went on to San Fransisco.
We went with Travelsphere and at each stop were Titian coaches.They used the same hotels as we did and were quite a bit dearer.
They do operate a pick up service from your home to the airport.